but look at this. flames ripping through three building, living 60 people with nothing. just the shirts on their backs days before christmas. >> a hands-off police technique let these thieves get their hands on your stuff without getting caught. we'll keep tabs on this friday, december 23rd. this is "today in the bay." good morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. it's 5:00. i'm laura garcia-cannon. yes, you're surrounded by women. >> she snuck up on me. i'm scott mcgrew. jon kelley has the day off. let's check in with meteorologist christina loren. >> good morning. she's like the wind. good morning to you. we have no wind this morning. your temperatures are falling towards records. we already tied a temperature record in napa and we haven't

hit the coldest part of the day. 21 degrees. 10 degrees below freezing. it is cold this morning. grab your jacket. you can wear the short sleeves underneath. we'll continue to track the records. we'll tell you how warm it's going to be later on. we have a nice day shaping up. and the holiday forecast is m coing up as well. today in the bay's kimberly terry is live at sfo. one of the busiest travel days of the year. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. you can see the crowds are coming in and will continue this way throughout the day. mike mccarren knows all things sfo. talk to us about the sheer numbers that are going to be coming through. today we have 134,000 people in and out of the gates. it's 22% increase over a normal

day. we have great weather here today. hopefully we won't have significant problems with air travel. >> the past the problem hasn't been this the bay area. it's been on the east coast and then it has a trickle down effect. >> if we get snow in new york, philadelphia, chicago, it has a huge impact on travel. not just here, but across the country. fortunately it looks like the weather is good. everyone will get to their destination in time for christmas. >> just tips on what people should do before they get to the airport. >> before they leave the house, check with the air carrier. make sure they got the correct flight. if you're going to hawaii, the plane my start in philadelphia or new york. someone may have had a problem there and may not get here in time. if you have packages, don't wrap them. we have gift wrap post security. if security can't determine what's in it, they have to unwrap it. get here an hour and a half early for domestic, two hours for international.

no problems at all. >> we're crossing our fingers for no trouble at all. smooth and steady all day long. >> that's the goal. >> now back to you. >> if you are driving instead of flying. keep in mind the dui km pain will start tonight. they will hit the road at midnight. chp says aboard the 21 will take place in nine counties in the bay area. a devastating day for dozens of people in san francisco after a massive fire ripped through several apartment buildings the flames raged for hours as hundreds of firefighters tried to gain control. this morning 60 people have lost everything in the middle of hanukkah and days before christmas. entire buildings gutted by the flames. residents escaped the flames with the shirts on their backs.

they're grateful everyone made it out alive. >> we had one gentleman who was asleep in his apartment and his partner called him. he had to come down the fire escape out of his unit. we're glad he's alive. >> folks are headed to hotels, nearby evacuation center as well for help and the red cross is on hand as well meanwhile, firefighters worked through the night, checking for hot spots after this fire swept through virgin vallejo. it threatened dozens of nearby homes. it charred 50 acres, jumped several backyards. luckily no homes damaged. no one injured. starting january 1st, san jose police will implement a new alarm program. the city's police chief sent out a post guard informing business owners if the alarm trips,

police will not respond unless someone calls to verify the business is being burglarized. 93% 98% of all calls are false alarms. that's why change hadded to be made. >> what do they expect me to walk in here with a shotgun and shoot at people? i'm going to go to jail for that in the end. not worth it. >> business owners not happy with the idea. san jose isn't the only idea with a policy like this in place. fremont has a similar policy along with places like seattle and detroit. ballistics testing on the gun in the the center of a shooting lead to charges in a separate case. a san jose police officer shot and killed a man in his home after galindo allegedly pointed the gun at officers. police say the same gun was used to kill 29-year-old valerie

casillas back in october. her body was found in october. with the alleged murder weapon in hand, police charged her husband, 23-year-old marcus casillas with murder yesterday. police believe they are connected but have not yet revealed details. a san francisco man faces felon charges for performing plastic surgery without a medical license at a bogus clinic. he stole the identity of a physician's assistant and used it to operate the derma clinic on mission. a daly city woman reported guzman-garza to police after botched liposuction. she said the man smoked a cigar and asked her to hold an iv bag. he flushed six pounds of fat down the toilet. he's facing a slew of felon charges and up to 12 years in prison. >> at what point do you say, this doesn't feel right? >> you lost me at cigar. 5:06 now.

thou shall not steal. especially from men. grand jury charged them with embezzling the money. linda gomez faces 17 counts of fraud after using a credit card belonging to the sisters of the holy names convent. she work there had since 1987. sunny vai wom s sun sunnyvale woman is accused of returning the items for cash. a 44-year-old custodian for the unified school district remains in custody on $1.5 million bond on charges he molested a child. police arrested john aster near his walnut creek home after searching a search warrant stemming from a complaint he engaged in lewd acts with a child under 14. police are not saying which school aster worked at or if the alleged victim is a student at one of the district schools. get ready for a few long term detours in san francisco that

will affect muni routs, and they're going to last for at least four years. muni says it's rerouting the 30 and 45 union stockton lines. changes start january 1st as subway construction gets under way. a temporary eight-shuttle route between curry street and broadway to help riders get around the detours. for more details, visit the muni website at sfmta.com. we'll remind you here. >> 5:08 now. almost 30 degrees colder than yesterday. >> it's crazy. >> it is cold. >> it really is cold. it's so bizarre, too. you see a five to six degree temperature spread throughout the day. here in california, we have

micro climates that really make for extreme conditions. especially in the north bay. just the setup up there. and temperature this is morning. that's where it's the coldest. 21 in napa. hey, even though it's 21 degrees in napa and i'm forecasting a low of 19 degrees, you're still going to hit the 60s later on today. so we'll climb substantially once the sun comes out. i'll show you why. it's cold this morning. the there's a freeze warning in place. about every interior valley across the north bay, east ball. south bay. watch for icy conditions in the bridges and overpasses. give yourself icy time. you may find frost on your windshield. it's not coldest point of the day. so here's your satellite imagery. we had the wind yesterday with a tight pressure gradient. it's still located over the great basin. but we don't have a pressure gradient anymore. it's moved off to the east. all the heat that we did acquire radiated back to the atmosphere with a clear sky.

we do have a little trough of low pressure trying to nudge its way to the bay area as well. not going to happen. high pressure stays firm. that storm passes to the north. nice and clear throughout the holiday weekend. and we're going to see temperatures in the 60s. it is bitter cold in the heat of the day. this weekend we're looking at dry holiday travel. where you could run into problems across the nation. and we have the seven-day forecast in my next report. >> it occurred to me that we didn't mention mike. the reason mike is not here, when you get on the road, you'll figure out why. >> he's probably sleeping in. it's 5:10. how do you turn the frown upside down when you receive a lousy gift? more gusts are on the way as well. meantime, look at that. can you imagine the star putting

that up on the rockefeller tree in new york city this morning? wind blowing there. beautiful, beautiful site. >> for all the latest news and traffic andndoo g weather and g conversation as well. find us on facebook. nbc bay area. don't worry, tiny people. flo is a gentle giant. bundle home and auto at progressive.com.

welcome back, everyone. ali alivelook outside. sfo, san francisco. a lot of folks jumping on a plane, traveling for the holidays. good luck to you. people living in christ church, new england, after a series of large quakes rocked the region again. this is video from a tv newsroom in christ church. you can see people ducking under their desks. two major quakes.

one measuring 5.8, the other six, hit the city in the afternoon. they were followed by a series of small aftershocks. there are no reports of widespread damage or serious injuries. yesterday's quakes were actually aftershocks from the 6.3 quake back in february that killed 182 people. >> it is 5:14 now. this morning more strong wind gusts are on the way in southern california after toppling trees and even tractor trailers yesterday. the highway patrol is on alert as they whip over roads increasing the risk of wildfires. in glenndale a 100-year-old tree just ripped from the ground. a big rig blew over the highway. luckily no one was hurt. >> the wind made it difficult for firefighters with the four

alarm fire. very dry conditions didn't help either. we had humidities yesterday between 10% to 15%. it's still dry out there and clear. and we're taking you live to liver more. 30 degrees at that part of livermore, but it's colder where we're getting our temperature this morning. the 29 degrees. we're at 27 in santa rosa. 21 degrees in napa. and 2 additional hours of cooling before we hit our lows this morning. so we're going to continue to drop off before sunrise, and temperatures are going to remain at the freezing mark, probably until 8:00 a.m. especially in the north bay. you want to make sure to travel cautiously. you could find black ice on the roadways because it's so bitter cold. especially places where the sprinkler gets left on. we have an area of low pressure trying to get in the bay area. high pressure stands firm keeping the skies nice and

clear. the area of pressure casts north. but we have another more promising area of low pressure slated to bring us rain today. for today, 60s, dry holiday travel especially here in the state of california. we have gusty winds still down through the los angeles area. but those are slated to continue to drop off as we head throughout the day. wind, oh, that's going to be a problem for us yet again. late tuesday into wednesday. we're also going to get showers. we need the rain. 58 in san mateo. 59 in redwood city. stick around for that holiday forecast. christmas is looking pretty good around here, guys. >> thank you much. the ceo of "the new york times" is getting $15 million to quit her job. janet robinson walks out the door next week. no one is set to replace her. rob robinson has been on the job for seven years.

now the size of robinson's exit package is drawing criticism from the paper's famed newsroom. the times will pay her $11 million in pension benefits she accrued during 28 years of service. k, i'll. the stage is set for apple to start building a brand new store in downtown palo alto. the city issued a building permit last week for the new prototype store that will be a block away from the existing store at university avenue. construction on the two-story, 15,000 square foot building will begin any day now. it's set to show a curved glass roof to show a natural light in a large, open design. the existing store, which is apple's first store in northern california is expected to close once the new store is ready to open. you go to one store and they open a new one just when you went to the first one. the final mall sales as retailers slash money to get you

to spend money. good morning, scott. sock futures are higher afters closed near the highs for a second straight day on thursday. investors shrugging off news the economy didn't grow as much as expected over the summer. there's a full slate of economic data. we'll get demands for goods, new home sales. watch for those. the dow rose 61 points to close at 12,169. the nasdaq closing at 2599. meantime, with two days left before christmas, retailers are slashing prices. "the new york times" reports while scattered markdowns are standards, huge discounts across entire stores are more widespread this year, which suggests the retailers are stuck with too much merchandise. amazon is cutting toys by up to 70%.

stores like american eagle and the limited are cuts prices by up to 44%. more people are ditching their cameras and cam corders if favor of snapping videos on the iphones. they are up from 17% last year. that's impacting sales of low-income cameras. cam corder sales are off 13%. happy holidays, scott. back to you. >> and to you as well. >> you know the feeling of unwrap a gift with smile on your face. >> you are not alone. 20% of american adults will get a lousy gift thu holiday season, and that means a lot of returns. >> certainly the reaction to most gifts will be like this. >> look at me! >> but a recent survey concluded

up to 49 million americans will get what can safely be called a lousy gift this year. >> the things that don't fit. the things that are, gosh, ugly. >> todd marx was one who conducted the survey. he says lousy gifts are why retailers are prepared for a flood of returns. starting the day after christmas. >> around one in five americans will spend two or more hours actually returning gift this is year. >> which means consumers need to be properly prepared for the returns too. >> if you're giving a gift, get a receipt. >> because of $3.5 billion in return fraud last year. he says don't be offended by tighter return rules this year. with gifts like electronics, he says think before ripping it open to help avoid restocking fees should you return it. consider your charity as a destination for the gift.

>> if people get a gift they don't like, if it's perfectly new and in good shape, donate it. >> the survey found one in five americans plan to do with a gift they don't want. come coming up tourists along the coast get a spectacular show. this is cool. where you can swim alongside great whale swhales. just ahead.

it's 5:23. a beautiful sparkly picture of the bay bridge this morning. it's 5:23. tourists in mexico were treated to a spectacular show as whales swam alongside their boats. every year thousands of gray

whales undertake a 12,000 mile round trip swim from the sea to give births to their calves. this is the longest migration of any mammal. they've been a protected species in mexico since 1972. those people swimming with the whales. jonah. were i a whale, i would stay in baja. but let's join christina, who will stick around here this holiday season. good morning. >> good morning. yes, i'm sticking around here. i'll have your christmas forecast christmas night after the big nfl game here on nbc. we're looking good for holiday travel across the nation right now. we had major delays earlier in the week. but today you're probably getting the best travel conditions that we've had all week.

especially in the north eastern porks of new england. there's snow coming down but only for the next six hours or so. after that a lot of improvement. quiet travel weather through your friday. 44 in san francisco. we're watching the temperatures drop like rocks. 25 in napa. you jump from 25 to 21 degrees where the wind picked up a little bit. it takes a light breeze to mix up the air and keep the dense cold from settling in. that's why you're at 25 now. i'm still forecasting a low of 25. we'll see the 60s later on. i have your holiday forecast. if you want a personalized forecast, facebook me to get it on the air. our own golden state warriors are at home taking on the clippers. that's at 7:30. mavericks playing the heat in a rematch of last year's nba

final. now if football is more your style, you can watch the packers and the bears at 5:25 that evening. >> still to come, lights out, dukes up at candle stick. a fan comes forward claiming he was assaulted during monday night's football power outage. >> we have live pictures of e.rr it livee.or 3 it's 30 degrees in livermore.0

more questions and concerns as scientists examine thousands of cans of baby formula after a 10-day-old baby died after being infective with a deadly bacteria. the power outage caused at candle stick there. and a live look outside this morning at 880 outside the other coliseum. it's friday. december 23rd. and this is "today in the bay."

>> good morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. it's 5:28 right now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> and i'm scott mcgrew. jon kelley has the day out today. this might be your time to get the last-minute christmas gifts at any of the 24-hour stores. the highways are empty this morning. 26 in livermore. 22 in gilroy. near record lows. you already tied a record low in napa. we'll hit the 60s later on. >> pack your patience if you're headed to the airport. today is one of the busiest travel days of the year.

got a live look at sfo where the lights are glistening. what about inside? that is actually a 5% increase from last year they defied some dwindling statistics at other hubs across the state. air travel is expected to drop by 9.9% this year compared to last year's levels. we'll keep our eye on sfo this morning for you. because a lot of people are traveling out there. you can also get the latest details on your flights. >> the biggest thing anyone can do is check nor the air carrier on the status of the flight. what is very interchangeable this time of year. we expect that for the next couple of days, the east coast,

midwest is very changeable in december as everyone knows. if you're bringing packages, we recommend you don't wrap them. if you do and have to go through security, you may have to wrap them all over again. although most of them will travel by automobile. 10 million residents will drooi to their holiday destination. lots of folks at bay area airports this morning. 53-year-old thomas hartman of pittsburgh is accused of setting dumpster fires in several east bay shopping centers in a couple of years. they became aware of him after looking at surveillance videos. he's accused of setting 50 fires in antioch and pittsburgh. damage was in the tens of

thousands of dollars. pg&e coming clean and admitting fault for one of the power outages. this shows one of two blackouts during the nationally televised game against the steelers. they say the first outage was caused by the failure of a splice on a nearby power line. the second blackout a malfunction of the stadium's own backup power system. now power outages were not the only problems at candle stick park on monday night. police are investigating what could be another case of fan violence after a 66-year-old los gatos man says he was attacked by several men. manuel ausin said he suffered broken teeth, a concussion and a black eye. one of the alleged suspects was cited on suspicion of assault

and taken out of the game. hundreds of parent who is pay child support are in for a surprise when they open their bill. they have switched computer systems four times over the past ten years. in the transition some parns who were late on payments were never charged interest until now. the county is tacking on all the the old interest to new bills. >> hundreds of thousands of rural residents will have to be hit with $150 fire protection fee. this includes thousands of bay area residents. the new fee already criticized. some say it's unnecessary. it's illegal. it's designed to generate new rev new for the state. it will apply to residential and other structures in rural areas. six counties including ma rin. cal fire doesn't provide fire protection services but pays local governments to do the job. residents will be charged in

that case. this morning health officials are awaiting test results after wal-mart pulled a popular baby formula from the shelves. this is after a 10-day-old boy in missouri died of a rare infection. scientists are testing the formula for traces of bacteria known to cause that certain type of infection. wal-mart has yanked the formula from more than 3,000 stores nationwide as a precautionary measure. but we should tell you that product is not exclusive to wal-mart. it is infamel newborn formula. johns johns johnson&johnson are recalling 12 million bottles of motrin ib. you can get the lot numbers at

the motrin.com website. this is the sixth recall in two years for them. >> let's check in with christina. if you're traveling, it looks clear across the nation. >> yeah, we're getting the best national travel right now. we do have some delays reported out of philadelphia. a lot of people hitting the highways trying to catch a flight. 25 in napa. 22 in gilroy. 10 degrees below freezing. and i just want you to make sure that you are ready for this. almost a 30 degree dropoff over the course of 24 hours. not just the north bay. the south bay and east bay interior valleys until 9:00 a.m. 7:22. right around sunrise.

in napa you already tied a temperature record. 28 in livermore. i'm forecasting a temperature record in oakland. 29 where we already hit 31. and you'll hit 44 degrees in san francisco. that's where it will be the warmest over the course of the morning. we'll stay dry. temperatures will stay comfortable in the 60s throughout the weekend. in fact,'re going to climb a little bit into christmas sunday. 57 in venecia. and 59 in concord. we'll have the seven-day forecast in moments. and there's still time to help. they are volunteering to hand out toys collected in the last minute toy drive you can drop off new unrapped toys all day

tomorrow. very close to union square. can't miss it. the toys will be handed out on christmas dry. 5:6 right now. battle at the box office. which hollywood heavyweights are duking it out for the top christmas spot. >> and gw bush is throwing his support behind a gop candidate. we'll tell you who is getting the big endorsement just ahead. you're looking at a live picture of the christmas tree in ed r lthat lt neesws, traffic and weather, find us on facebook at nbc bay area. [ mom ] hey guys.

guys... [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls with cinnabon cinnamon are an irresistible sunday morning idea. nothing calls them to the table faster. sunday morning ideas made easy. [ younger brother ] oh, do you want it? yeah. ok, we'll split it. [ female announcer ] made fresh, so light... ...buttery and flaky... this is half. that is not half. guys i have more. [ female announcer ] do you have enough crescents?

happy hanukkah. surprisingly heavy traffic in the east bay. we'll traffic about traffic in a bit. mitt romney's presidential campaign is getting big support

in his bid to capture the gop nomination. george h.w. bush is endorsing him, saying romney is the best choice for us. the elder mr. bush says he officers, stability, experience and is not, quote, a bomb thrower. he spoke with the former president on the phone yesterday while campaigning in new hampshire. >> there are reports that the ballot scanners that will be used in the election could freeze up without warning that could cause the machines to misread ballots. they are responsible for inspecting vote equipment says the ballot readers are not in come flins with federal standards. the feds have desert fied the machines. but if that does happen, it could force election officials to abandon these scanners on the eve of the presidential primaries. >> it is 5:40 right now. it's an astounding number, one certain to shock them in the

upcoming elections. 2.5 million voters have left the party since the 2008 election. an analysis by usa today reveals a number of independent voters has increased dramatically. in sheer numbers. the democrats have shed 800,000 voters while the gop lost more than 300,000. the trend is acute in states key to next year's race to the white house. people die. people move. people revolt from their parts in disgust. house republicans giving up the fight. they're going along with the senate compromise bill. brian mooar is live in washington this morning. john boehner admitting this fight was not worth it politically. >> yeah, he has taken a beating here. you know what, scott, this drama still has one cliff hanger left this morning. we're expecting two procedural

votes in the next 90 minutes. if even one lawmaker objects, the whole thing that has to be pushed into next week. house republicans have surrendered in the fight over extending the payroll tax cut. >> we were here fighting for the right things. may not have been the smartest thing in the world. i think our members waged a good fight. >> facing immense pressure from the 150 million americans from members of their own party who feared a costly backlash, republicans decided to go along with a two-month extension passed by the senate. >> the amendment is agreed to. >> but a key provision, language that protects small business from nightmarish reporting requirements allows gop lawmakers to walk away with an important consolation prize. it's a holiday gift for taxpayers and an election year present for president obama. >> this is it.

this is exactly why people get so frustrated with washington. >> surrounded by people who would pay if the tax cuts didn't pass, the president turned up the heat. now he's tweeting that the victory isn't his. he says it's yours. so if one lawmaker does object, more likely in the house than the senate, it would cost about $4 million to bring everybody back for a vote next week. scott? >> i understand there's a lot of concern with payroll people as well. trying to figure out what in the world is going to happen in a couple of weeks to payroll. >> yeah, the house put language in this bill to make sure that employers are not going to have to deal with the same kind of paperwork problems they would have dealt with. it's important that the republican leadership can say to their conference here, as we call it here in washington, can say to the republican voters out there in america, this wasn't a futile fight. we got something out of this.

we didn't walk away empty handed. we had always intended to give americans a tax cut. but we wanted to get something out of it. that's probably the way they will play this. and the way they should play this, quite frankly, because it was looking bad. >> all right, brian mooar, have a great holiday. >> 5:44 now. certainly feeling cold out there as you head out the door this morning. frigid temperatures. >> good morning. we can't make a snow man, but maybe a frost man this morning if you scrape enough off your windshield. we want to see your picture this is morning. if you wake up and find that we would love to see your pictures. we will display them proudly on the facebook page. you can see from this live pictures, it's hustle and bustle at the airport. a lot of people catching flights out of town. we still have only one delay to report. and that is philadelphia. expect that to ripple down throughout the day. big travel day across the nation. freeze warning in the north bay,

south bay, and interior valleys. watch out for icy conditions. it's cold out there. i am watching your satellite imagery. it looks like clouds are coming in that could stop us from getting all that much colder. i'm expecting a significant drop-off still in places like napa. take a look at the difference from 24 hours ago. we're 29 degrees colder in santa rosa. yesterday you could wake up, walk out the front door with the short-sleeved shirt on. this morning, not the case. you'll need the scarf, the jacket. something you can take off today. the key is to dress in layers because we're still expecting the 60s. sunrise is the coldest point of the day. this morning, 44 degrees in san francisco. 35 degrees around sunrise in redwood city. you'll hit 29, a new record this oakland. and very, very cold conditions. and this is the coldest it's been so far. and second day of winter.

throughout the day today, you can see the clouds coming in now. there's an area of low pressure that will pass to the north. but we're only going to see a few of the high clouds spill through the bay area. overall the system stays north. we're not expecting rain in the bay area. until we hit next week. we'll talk about that in a moment. for today we're talking about the 60s. 62 in places like santa rosa, after we get through the bitter, bitter cold. this weekend is looking good for holiday travel in the state of california. you might get hit with a gusty wind through probably the next few hours. i think that's going to start to die down. but we still have the santa ana set up out there. it does look lighter in terms of the pressure gradient this morning. you could still get hit by a gust or two over the grapevine. late tuesday into wednesday, we have rain on the way. and we need this rain. widespread showers across the bay area. nothing heavy. light showers. we'll take whatever we can get. not only do we need it to replenish the moisture in the

summer months, we also need it for air quality as we have the big ridge of high pressure. it makes for stagnant air. 59 in fairfield. 61 in pittsburgh today. 63 degrees up in santa rosa. seven-day outlook shows you we'll stay nice and quiet all the way through the holiday weekend. then we have showers on the way. my family married into this. we thought it was weird to go to the movie on christmas day. now it's a tradition. you have spielberg, matt damon and daniel craig all in the theaters. >> if you need help to decide which one to see, here's rafael with a sneak peek. >> we are at war. >> i promise you that i'll look after him. if i can, i'll return him to your care. >> men weren't the only ones drafted in "war horse."

it received a golden globe nomination. when the brits enter world war i, the army asks for all hands and hooves to help out. "war horse" is rated pg-1. >> it's a clue to one of the greatest secrets in all history. if you like spielberg softer, he also directed "the adventures of tin-tin." it was created by a belgian artist in 1929. he's a young reporter trying to solve a century's old secret that takes him around the world. it's rated pg. >> i want you to help me catch a killer of women. daniel craig learns not to judge a book by the cover. he plays a journalist hired to investigate the unsolved murder of a young socialite. he needs help cracking the 40-year-old case and gets it in the form of a tattooed punk named elizabeth. >> what's so complicated about this place.

>> matt damon gets in touch with his wild side in "we bought a zoo". he finds a new home in a dilapidated animal mark where a beauty played by scarlet johansen may help him get a head start. that's the box office preview. nbc news. >> the horse one looks particularly good. >> "war horse"? >> yeah. and apparently it's not very violent, although it's about the world war. maybe it's not your kid friendly. but it's kid-friendly. >> we're at the very climatic santa movies. >> t5:49. coming up three music icons rank at the top of the worst holiday songs ever. you probably have your three. think about yours. we'll tell you if you're right. >> you may be surprised. taking a live look outside overlooking san jose.

cold, cold start to the morning once again. bundle up if you're headed out the door. and taking a look at 880 in oakland. a surprising amount of traffic. pretty light if you are headed to the airport on that sidee ba ig49 rowht the bay. 5:49 right now.

>> welcome back, everyone. a live look outside. glistening lights of san francisco international airports. kind of remarkable. about 2 million passengers are forecast to use sfo this holiday season. a very busy place. we'll keep you posted on traffic running through the area as well. casey anthony was acquitted

of killing her 2-year-old daughter in july. this morning she's facing a defamation lawsuit. roy kronk, the meter reader who discovered the remains of her 2-year-old daughter in 2008 filed suit on wednesday. his attorney says anthony's defense team made multiple false statements against his client, including that he killed 2-year-old caylee, and that he removed the remains. casey anthony is also facing lawsuits for implicating two other people for the death of her daughter. barry bonds is appealing his felon obstruction conviction. the home run king lawyer filed an appeal on wednesday, asking the ninth u.s. circuit court to toss out his conviction. 47-year-old bonds was sentenced to 30 days of house arrest. two years probation and $4,000 fine. bonds was convicted of giving evasive answers to a grand jury. it could take as long as 18 months for a final decision there. and an unusual illegal borderreportedly tried to

smuggle shark fins in at the border near san diego. the 54-year-old mexican woman was caught with 29 pounds of shark fins trying to cross the border. the woman was cited. the visa canceled and she was deported. shark fin soup is considered a delicacy by the chinese, and fins can fetch more than $2,000 a pound. but importing fins is illegal. it's 5:54 right now. it's also gadget friday. scott has two treats for us for the holidays. >> i thought we would look at unusual things. let's start with a tape we have. this will set you back about $800. but what is it? it's a big black box. you probably have an external hard drive at home frk you don't, you should.

that's what is backing up all of your data. but look inside and you'll see this drobo, manufactured here in san jose, has several drives inside. these are the drives you can buy at best buy. you just slap them back in there, and you can expand as much as you want to, and it will work as you're pulling drives in and out as we need to store more music and more pictures. this is a totally cool way of doing it. the other is the ultra book. this looks like a lot like a mac air. it's not. it's a windows machine. but it's the same sort of thinness. it's great. it's outstanding. now it is a windows machine, and lots of people these days are not preferring windows machines. but this is the new hot in laptop computers. absolute instant on. it snaps on the second you want to. nice bright screen with nbc bay area. check out the new improved

website. remember netbooks? those were cool for a while. these are at least $900. sometimes a lot more. you can't watch a dvd on these. we're getting away from the idea of storing things on cds and dvds. >> and speaking of the internal hard drive that i've been seeing on your desk for some time. what about the fact that so many people are talking about storing in the cloud. >> that's going to be the next big thing. and that's going to be a threat for companies like drobo. like sea gate. we're not going to buy hard drives. we're just going to get stuff out of the air. >> and you can trust it. >> you can trust drobo with your prized possessions, assuming your house doesn't burn down. >> the thousands and thousands of pictures i have of those triplets already. my goodness. speaking of christmas around the

corner, nothing like a good christmas song to get you into the holiday spirit if you've been listening to it. i have. with all the good christmas songs, there's said to be pretty bad ones, too. i don't know what's on your list, scott, but more than 11,000 people voted on the poll of the worst holiday songs, here were their top threes. >> i'm wondering if i'm getting that confused with "so this is christmas." that's a pretty one. >> i don't think that's the same one. that's a nice one. >> yeah. wait, that's the same one? oh, i like that one. i reject. number two, wonderful christmastime. i think that one is fun and upbeat. number one, madonna's version of "santa baby." 5:57 right now. still a lot more to come on "today in the bay."